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Tag Archives: Academic Coordinator

My students now have the ability to set up their own appointments with me using GradesFirst. Students will be able to see my available meeting times, then select the time that works best for them in 30-minute increments. Following, are simple instructions for setting up an appointment. Continue reading →

GradesFirst released the Appointment Cancellations feature update this week, and upon initial review, it looks like exactly what we have longed for. We can finally put an end to the “disappearing” appointments in the GradesFirst system. As Academic Coordinators, I know we have all been frustrated when we go into one of our student’s calendars to find that the tutoring appointment we arranged for them has disappeared without a trace.

With this new update, we shift from deleting appointments to canceling appointments. This may seem like simple word play, but in fact, there is a huge difference between the two. We will no longer delete appointments (DO NOT DELETE APPOINTMENTS).

When an appointment is deleted, it disappears . . . forever.

This is what we want to avoid. Instead, when we “cancel” an appointment, GradesFirst allows us to track the life-cycle of the meeting. A canceled meeting remains on the attendees calendars. We can track the reasons the appointments were canceled. We can now run reports to show us why and when appointments are canceled. And most importantly, we can determine who gets notified once an appointment is canceled. So the days of feeling left in the dark when an appointment is canceled are gone. Every Academic Coordinator will receive an email notification if one of their student’s tutor appointments is canceled.

Message all or individual attendees of an appointment from the “Manage Appointment” window

Attendees can message the meeting organizer from the “Manage Appointment” window

I encourage you to dive in and poke around the system. I’m sure you will be as pleased with the new update as I am. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or for a guided tour of the new features.

Our subject tutors are very important to our operations and the academic success of our student-athletes. Most of you tutor in addition to maintaining very busy and hectic schedules as students and professionals. Although you tutor on a part-time basis, you are considered an “Institutional Staff Member” by the NCAA, and as such are held to the same standards as our full-time staff members in the HAC.

The NCAA defines an institutional staff member as any individual who performs work for the athletics department, even if the individual is a student at the institution and/or does not receive compensation for performing such services. This means that you are prohibited from certain things because of your status as an institutional staff member. Some of these restrictions and responsibilities are as follows:

You are obligated to report any issues, concerns or violations to your supervisor or the compliance office (see How to Report a Violation)

You cannot participate in sports gambling / wagering. This includes any sport sponsored by the NCAA at any level (amateur, collegiate, professional)

You cannot provide extra benefits to student athletes

You may not arrange for fraudulent academic credit or complete schoolwork for any student-athlete

You are not allowed to recruit prospective student-athletes to participate in CU Athletics

If you are unsure of an action you are considering, please contact a HAC representative or the CU Compliance Office for clarification and a rules interpretation.

Getting to Know Your Herbst Academic Center Staff

Academic Coordinator: All student-athletes have a designated Academic Coordinator who works with them from freshman orientation through graduation to assist with the following:

Coordinate and monitor the use of campus-wide resources that would best allow each individual student-athlete to succeed academically

Provide personal support and refer student-athletes to counseling and personal assistance resources if necessary

Collaborate with Academic Advisors for course selection

Help facilitate the student-athlete’s academic transition to college

Recommend and provide subject tutoring for any class

Monitor NCAA, Pac-12, and CU academic eligibility standards

Track eligibility benchmarks and progress towards degree completion

Motivate students to fully engage in their academic life

Teach students about academic integrity and academic fraud

Communicate with faculty as needed and assist in communication with professors regarding missed class due to competitions

Learning Specialist: Learning specialists provide support to students with both learning disabilities and learning deficiencies. Skill building in the areas of reading , writing and test taking are the primary areas of focus for Learning Specialists. In addition, assistance is provided in securing and implementing accommodations that may be awarded through the CU Office of Disability Services.

Academic Mentor: In addition to all the qualifications of a subject tutor, Academic Mentors facilitate the student-athlete’s transition to college and help develop academic skills. Specifically, Academic Mentors teach and promote the development of academic success and skills ranging from time management, organization and prioritization.